210420 Environmental Statement 2021 by kickandrush

Environmental Statement 2021

Environmental Statement 2021 2020 data

Mohamed Akariou

Table of contents 1

Environmental Statement 2021

Presentation of KICK AND RUSH.................................................................................................3

II.

Scope of application...................................................................................................................3

III.

The company..............................................................................................................................4

IV.

Description of our Environmental Management System (EMS)..................................................7

Scope of application10

VI.

Description of our EMS............................................................................................................10

VII.

Quality and SD policy...............................................................................................................1 1

VIII.

Analysis of the company's context...........................................................................................1 4

IX.

Significant aspects and environmental impacts.......................................................................1 4

X. Our 2019 environmental performance............................................................................................1 6 A - DIRECT ASPECTS........................................................................................................................................ 1 6 B - INDIRECT ASPECTS............................................................................................................................... 1 9 XI. Environmental objectives to be achieved in 2017-20202 1 XII.

Biodiversity..............................................................................................................................2 2

XIII.

Carbon footprint......................................................................................................................2 3

XIV.

Legal requirements in environmental matters.........................................................................2 7

XV. Next Environmental Statement......................................................................................................2 9 XVI. Validation by the Environmental Auditor...........................................................................................

Presentation of KICK AND RUSH 2

Environmental Statement 2021

KICK AND RUSH is one of the European leaders in the market of promotional textiles and objects. The company was founded in 1996 under the name "KICK AND RUSH". It specializes in promotional textiles and thanks to its silk-screen printing and embroidery workshop, it was able to rapidly increase its market share. In 2001, the company merged with GMP (T-shirtPrint). One year later, the new entity was equipped with a new department dedicated to promotional items and premiums. The company saw its turnover increase significantly. KICK AND RUSH has since established its reputation on the Belgian market. In 2011, KICK AND RUSH developed a joint venture with a German company named mcs promotion, in order to exchange know-how and develop new sales tools (e.g. WebShop or Fullfilment, Workwear). The new name of the company became "KICK AND RUSH". In November 2013, mcs K&R obtained its first EMAS and ISO14001 certifications. In March 2014, mcs K&R received its first ISO9001 certification. In July 2016, mcs K&R received the highest rating from Ecovadis (GOLD). In April 2017, KICK AND RUSH set up a new Business Unit (VPC) with a commitment of 3 people. In October 2017, the KICK AND RUSH Group acquired a majority stake in Belgosweet, a company specializing in personalized chocolates and confectionery. In January 2018, the KICK AND RUSH group acquired the Oscar Gift company in order to strengthen its position in the Belgian market. In May 2018, KICK AND RUSH moved its premises to Braine L'Alleud, with more storage space and offices. In June 2019, decides to go out to bid for a new ERP. In April 2020, the company acquired the activities and part of the staff of the company Supremia. With this event the company took the opportunity to review its global strategy (sales and marketing). The new name became KICK AND RUSH but with a new visual identity. Following this takeover, the company has seen its size double and is ready to launch itself towards new horizons.

Vision

II.

The ambition of our company is to : 

To provide a quality, creative and customized service to all our partners 3

Environmental Statement 2021

   

III.

To become a key player in the European market of eco-responsible promotional products To offer our employees a pleasant working environment To work in a socially responsible manner (integrating the social, economic and environmental dimensions) Launch a digitalization program by implementing a new ERP (Odoo) and webshop platforms for its customers

The company

The company employs more than 40 people and its offices are located in Braine l'Alleud and Mechelen. For the implementation of EMAS, ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certification, KICK AND RUSH has set up a new department called the "Quality-Environment Department", which reports directly to the management. This department is composed of people who have developed skills and experience in environmental, legal, sourcing and financial matters.

Environmental Statement 2021

Description of our Environmental Management System (EMS)

IV.

Our focus under EMAS is to ensure that we not only have control over existing products and their characteristics, but also to be able to communicate the right information to both our customers and suppliers. Our EMS allows us to understand whether a promotional product is eco-responsible or not and from what angle eco-responsibility has been defined. Our EMS approach is in line with our quality standards, especially the good control of our supply chain.

Our EMS was built with the help of the EMAS Easy methodology, which is more adapted to the size of our company. It allows an analysis of our environmental impact and also ensures its continuous improvement through objectives to be reached. We have identified not only the responsibilities of each actor within the EMS, but also the action plans for each particular area, the means for their implementation and the audits to be carried out to control the proper functioning of the system. Internal Communication During the implementation of our EMS, an opinion survey was conducted to identify the main lines of our action plan. Subsequently, a meeting was organized with all the personnel (World Café) in order to target the action program. In order to implement our actions, we organized other meetings with a focus on creative communication:

    

Playful text BD effect for display (waste separation, cartridge replacement) How to print well for dummies Printing environmental ID cards on mouse pads Screen in standby mode with the 10 commandments

Each KICK AND RUSH staff member receives training on the environmental system upon entry and is given a descriptive ID card that includes their environmental best practices and responsibilities in the EMS. The use of Quick Checks allows the identification of training needs according to the environmental problems encountered. An environmental training plan is also prepared annually. It is evaluated once a year to verify that the planned 5

Environmental Statement 2021

training has been carried out. The training plan can be modified during the year if specific training needs are identified or if interesting training opportunities are highlighted. The analysis of training and competence needs is done on an ongoing basis. During a management meeting, the management approves or disapproves the projects submitted in this sense. During the year 2020 and following the new organization, the company has set up an internal communication channel via Teams. Via this channel, teams can exchange news, projects, current events, etc. among themselves.

External Communication The environmental declaration and the sustainable development policy are posted on our website. When we send out purchase orders, the sustainable development policy is systematically attached. A presentation of our company will integrate our environmental vision and is communicated to our partners. To this end, we have set up a precise action program for the marketing of eco-responsible products. KICK AND RUSH, has implemented the Hubspot software (CRM) to communicate with its customers, via this tool the company will be able to communicate its products and catalogs digitally. An Eco catalog has been published on our website: www.kickandrush.com.

Field of application

The environmental management system (EMS) applies to our activities of consulting, design and sale of promotional products. These activities take place in Belgium, Rue Saint Sébastien, 8 in 1420 Braine l'Alleud. The offices in Mechelen are excluded from the Emas scope. The company offers customers a wide range of products and communication solutions: from promotional items available in stock (Mugs, Pens, USB Keys, etc.) to custom-made items developed in Europe or Asia. We also offer storage solutions and creation of webshops (known as fullfilment) as well as design and production of workwear. This environmental declaration expresses KICK AND RUSH's commitment to respecting the environmental legislation in the Walloon region. As a reminder, the EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme), established by the European regulation (EC) 1221/2009 with its annexes IV (current version https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/FR/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2017:222:TOC), concerns the voluntary participation of organisations in a community environmental management system.

VI.

Description of our Environmental Management System (EMS) 6

Environmental Statement 2021

Quality and SD policy

VII.

Analysis of the company's context

VIII.

The context of the organization has been analyzed taking into account the relevant internal and external issues and the expectations and needs of its stakeholders. The context is updated at the Management Review or when there are significant changes in the issues or in the needs and expectations of the stakeholders. 

Internal and external issues

The context of the organization was assessed through a risk analysis (SWOT). This risk analysis was performed as follows: •

Step 1: Identification of the organization's strengths and weaknesses (internal issues)

•

Step 2: Identification of opportunities and threats (external issues)

•

Step 3: confrontation of the organization's strengths and weaknesses with the opportunities and threats

•

Step 4: Reflect on the possibility of using strengths to maximize opportunities and on the possible correction of weaknesses by taking advantage of opportunities 

Stakeholder needs and expectations

After the identification of the interested parties, the relevance of each of them is determined by a relationship between the power of this party (power to impact or power impacted) and the interest shown in relation to the company's activities, products and services (the environmental aspects).

IX.

Significant aspects and environmental impacts

The initial environmental analysis of the offices and site was conducted through field visits. The opinion of the staff regarding environmental aspects was obtained via an opinion survey. The company's flows were also inventoried, with an analysis of the global energy impacts (direct energy, mobility, grey energy, etc.) by means of a Bilan Carbone®. This allowed us to define all the environmental aspects of the company. An analysis of the environmental impacts of the company's mission was also carried out by identifying the main problems encountered at each stage of the sale of products, from the selection of suppliers to the delivery of 7

Environmental Statement 2021

products to customers. Among the analysis tools used, a brief Bilan Carbone® was carried out on the main products purchased by KICK AND RUSH. The environmental aspects are updated every year. They are reanalyzed from a life cycle perspective and are listed by business unit in an Excel table. The aspects are segmented according to activities or geographical locations. The different environmental impacts are taken into account for each activity. The different types of environmental impacts considered are:         

C-ENEnergy consumption C-Water consumption C-MPConsumption of raw materials R-AIRAir releases R-WASTEWATER discharges R-SOLSoil pollution R-BRUBruit R-DECHWaste I-VISU Visual impact

The purpose of the analysis is to identify significant environmental aspects and to determine environmental priorities. The significance of the impacts (compliant or not compliant with a regulation) is evaluated on the basis of a rating. The final rating is the total given by the multiplication of the severity (G), control (M) and occurrence (O) ratings = G*M*O = Z. Our most impactful direct aspects for the environment are:      

The heating system of the building Paper prints for production files The use of servers Daily commuting for the team The amount of printed material and the waste it creates Delivery of samples to our customers

Our indirect aspects that have the greatest impact on the environment are     

The choice of products sold: quality, price, origin, material (recycled or not, electronic product, with or without battery, etc.) The choice of product packaging: composition and type (inner, outer, cellophane, etc.) The choice of the supplier The choice of transport The extent of our range of eco-responsible products in our catalogs 8

Environmental Statement 2021

During the analysis of the carbon emission rate, it became clear that the impact of indirect aspects is more important than that of direct aspects. The challenge of implementing Emas in our company is to further reduce the environmental impact of the direct aspects, which we have control over, and to find solutions to act on the indirect aspects, for which we have very little room for maneuver.

Our environmental performance for the year 20

A - DIRECT ASPECTS. The calculation of carbon emissions is detailed in chapter XIII

Consumption per FTE The following data were collected on the site of Braine l'Alleud only:    

Energy , Water Waste Purchasing and marketing Fixed assets

The number of FTE = 20 + 3 persons working on the same site for the company Belgosweet sprl. Mobility data were collected for all employees of the sites of Braine, Mechelen and Willberok (FTE 42)



Paper consumption

Good practices in the use of paper (only one machine installed far from the offices, default programming NB/RV,...) have allowed us to strongly reduce paper consumption. In 2020, the strong decrease is mainly due to the Covid crisis (the staff was often in remote).

Environmental Statement 2021



Energy

In the new building, the energy source is oil. This source is unfortunately more polluting than gas. Nevertheless, the total consumption of electricity and heating per FTE in the new offices is lower than before, thanks to the installation of low-energy lamps:    

2017: 4,556 kwh per FTE 2018: 4,036 kwh per FTE 2019: 3,834 kwh per FTE 2020: 3,014 kwh per FTE

Despite the Covid, energy consumption did not decrease much. Some of the staff had to come in to ensure the continuity of the business. The only way to decrease this item is to increase the number of people and/or study the possibility of changing the boiler.  Waste sorting Waste sorting has become a reflex. The employees respect the sorting instructions: this objective has been achieved. Sometimes this practice seems disorganized because of external people or short term trainees. We continue to sensitize the staff in case of non-compliance. In the new building the company has installed a large, fully equipped kitchen, which will allow employees to use their cars less to get food. The volume of waste paper and cardboard packaging + all waste has increased, the neighboring company Belgosweet, which is not part of the Emas perimeter, passes its packages through the building for sorting and repackaging.  Mobility In 2020, not surprisingly, given the Covid, the CO2 impact at the level of mobility has dropped significantly!

B - INDIRECT ASPECTS. The attached diagram allows us to better understand where the levers are that will allow us to orient our procedures towards more eco-responsible behavior

 Orient our commercial offer towards eco-responsible behaviors and products We are not yet witnessing a great evolution in the supply and demand for eco-responsible advertising objects because the "price" factor is still a determining factor. Nevertheless, we continue to push our commercial offer to institutional customers. Below are some concrete examples of our eco-friendly products. In 2017, we implemented the ECO category in our ERP system to better identify sales of eco-friendly products:  

2017 : 24 ECO sales 2018 : 47 ECO sales 10

Environmental Statement 2021

 

2019: 111 ECO sales 2020: 173 ECO sales

The sales trend of ECO products continues to increase, as the market demand is getting stronger.  Develop our supply chain of eco-responsible suppliers Based on 184 confirmed suppliers:  Europe : 110  Asia : 74  A good evolution in environmental matters: o 2019: 5% of suppliers are ISO14001 certified o 2020: 11% of suppliers are ISO14001 certified In terms of CSR - BSCI audited suppliers: o o

2019 : 56% 2020 : 30%

In Europe, the trend towards eco and EU origin products is increasing, especially products from recycled materials. In 2020, KICK AND RUSH wanted to reduce the number of suppliers, especially in Asia, in order to strengthen the commercial links and to privilege the short circuits.  Promote the modes of transport with the least impact on international freight The environmental aspect of transport is in line with the economic process of our commercial offer. The purchasing department has integrated into its planning and management of deliveries :  

XI.

XII.

A shipping method for all our orders coming from Asia. Shuttles (grouping of orders) for 80% of our orders in Belgium and Europe.

Environmental objectives to be achieved in 2017-2020 _ 2021-2024

Biodiversity

For the moment, the only indicator we have for the impact on biodiversity is the surface area occupied by our offices + parking lot, i.e. 824 m² of covered floor space 11

Environmental Statement 2021

Natural surface in the form of a tub: 1 m². An initiative to install a compost bin, will further reduce waste and promote biodiversity on a small scale.

XIII.

Carbon footprint

The Bilan Carbone is estimated on the basis of the ADEME methodology (Agence De l'Environnement et Maîtrise de l'Energie, France). The methodology is based on the creation and use of emissions factors that estimate the carbon content associated with the manufacture, use and disposal (based on the entire life cycle) of a process, material or activity. KICK AND RUSH was assisted by external experts in carrying out the carbon assessment; the method used was defined according to two axes: Direct aspects and indirect aspects. A - DIRECT ASPECTS . To establish the office's carbon footprint, most of the data was available. The emissions of the Belgian electricity producer were evaluated based on the energy mix of this producer and then compared to the data provided by ADEME. For consumables, the emission factors used were mainly taken from ADEME's Bilan Carbone® tool. https://www.bilans-ges.ademe.fr/fr/accueil

The graphs below show the evolution of Co2 emissions by item between 2018 and 2020. In this statement, due to the change in the method of calculating Co2 emissions (latest ADEME version), we only compare the 2018, 2019 and 2020 data! 2018 : The move + reorganization of the teams, had as a consequence an increase in CO2 impact compared to previous years. 2019: slight decrease in travel. 2020: the decrease is mainly due to the Covid crisis. The impact of travel remains significant compared to other items, but as it is very much linked to the economic activity of our company (customer visits, trade fairs, factory visits), it is difficult to reduce it further! The 20212024 objectives will allow us to compensate for any excess CO2 emissions.

Environmental Statement 2021

B - INDIRECT ASPECTS. To establish the carbon footprint of the products put on the market by KICK AND RUSH, the approach was different. The materials used for this assessment were evaluated on the basis of a detailed analysis of the orders placed with the suppliers of mcs KICK AND RUSH. It is therefore not a carbon footprint as such but an evaluation of the manufacturing emissions of these products. Most of the conversion factors for these materials and the associated transport are taken from the ADEME Bilan Carbone® V.6 database. However, some elements are taken from the Swiss database ECOINVENT. For other products, such as USB keys, their relative impact being important, a more detailed study was carried out on the basis of the ADEME Bilan Produits 2008 tool. For the calculation of the CO2 emissions of the products put on the market, for the years 2013 and 2020, we have worked with the same method as the one used for our FostPlus declarations. The volume of inputs (products put on the market) increases in line with the volume of KICK AND RUSH's activity. We are aware that this method has its limits, as the part of the eco-responsible products is not included! The goal is to make a comparison of direct and indirect impacts. The carbon offset project in collaboration with Ippag members is underway, which will allow us to better identify the different types of products.

Environmental Statement 2021

Legal requirements in environmental matters

XIV.

KICK AND RUSH rents its premises. The building belongs to the holding company of the same group.      

The maintenance of the building is carried out under the responsibility of the company's QE manager. Ansul for fire extinguisher maintenance; Sita for waste collection; Clean Power for building maintenance; PAYS CHAUFFAGE SPRL for the maintenance of the boiler Veritank bvba for oil tank leak test

There are no classified activities that would require an environmental permit. A class 3 declaration was introduced and validated by the communal administration on May 06, 2019.

The legal requirements applicable to KICK AND RUSH products are:     

Recupel Auvibel FostPlus / Valipack Bebat Composition of the products: - Regulation EC 1907/2006 REACh (registration, evaluation and authorization of chemical substances) - The RoHs, RoHs II and WEE directives on electrical and electronic objects and components

Updates for these regulations are communicated by the professional associations of which KICK AND RUSH is a member (BAPP and IPPAG), via internal control. Product-related regulatory monitoring is also carried out with the help of laboratories such as Bureau Veritas, SGS and Intertek, and via newsletter subscriptions. The QE manager then communicates them to the teams and to management. A legal register is set up to ensure the follow-up of the regulations. KICK AND RUSH respects its environmental commitments as defined by the Emas regulation and the Walloon region. Attached are the various legal declarations for the year 2020

Environmental Statement 2021

XV.

Next Environmental Declaration

The next environmental statement will be updated in April 2022 and validated in April 2023.